


Sweet Escape

by Slsheeba567



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drowning, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, Near Death Experiences, POV Ben Solo, Swimming, businessman Ben, mermaid au, mermaid rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:27:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slsheeba567/pseuds/Slsheeba567
Summary: "The first time he saw her, he was convinced the brownie he had eaten at Hux’s business party earlier that night was full of pot, and he was tripping."





	Sweet Escape

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this is such crap, I've been really tired, have really bad headaches, and my memory has been shit, so my hypochondria has naturally been going haywire, but I just really wanted to write something for Reylo because I've been obsessed with them lately. Hope it's not too bad :)

The first time he saw her, he was convinced the brownie he had eaten at Hux’s business party earlier that night was full of pot, and he was tripping.

It was dark and cold as fuck, and Ben had been taking a shortcut home when he could’ve sworn he saw something glimmer out of the corner of his eye.

Turning his head, he had to suppress a shout of surprise at the sight that he saw.

There was a young woman sitting on the edge of the pier, illuminated by the faint glow of the street light nearby. From what he could see, she had dark hair and slightly tan skin.

That wasn’t the weird part, although it did make him wonder at first why she was dipping her toes into the water when it was freezing as fuck.

Nope, the part that nearly made him yell was the fact that she didn’t have any toes at all. She didn’t have feet either. Or even legs.

In place of all of that was a long, scaly, and shimmery tail.

After squinting to get a better look from the dark street, he saw that it was a dark green color, like the color of pine needles. She was also wearing a light brown wrap around her chest, and a peculiar charm hanging from her neck.

In his effort to look closer, his toe scraped harshly against the gravel street, and suddenly a pair of eyes flickered to his. Just for a second.

In her stare, he saw a shocked and slightly scared glint reflecting off her eyes. Before he could say anything, she dove off the pier, into the dark waters below.

“Wait!” Ben shouted, a half a second too late for her to hear. He quickly jogged over to the edge of the pier, leaning over like some stupid asshole in a horror movie that was about to be eaten by the monster.

But all he saw was darkness, and no sign at all of the girl.

He sat there a minute or so, processing what just happened. What the hell was that? He had to have been imagining it, right? Mermaids didn’t actually exist, they were just a myth. Right?

Biting his lip, he slowly stood up, glancing one last time at the water, and slowly backed away from the pier.

Maybe he just needed a good night’s sleep.

 

 

 

The second time he saw her, he nearly died.

It was summertime now, and he had tried his best to put the incident out of his head, repeating to himself that Hux must have fucked with him and put pot in the food that night at his party, ignoring the rational voice in his head that told him Hux wasn’t a big drug guy, besides the cigarettes and occasional glasses of wine.

So, it was only natural that curiosity got the better of him and after months of back and forth on the topic, he decided to visit the same pier again, this time in broad daylight.

Ben could never swim very well, not even able to tread water when it came right down to it. Growing up his dad had tried to take him to the pool for swimming lessons, but he would always throw a tantrum, until the poor man had no choice but to drive him back home, to the disappointment of his mother. That was before everything went to shit.

He had been standing on the edge of the pier, kicking his shoe absentmindedly at the wood when he tripped over his own foot and went sailing into the water. A simple mistake, yet one that nearly proved to be fatal.

Ben started to panic, flailing his arms around helplessly, unaware of what to do in this situation. He was so close to the pier, he needed to do something. Anything.

His body began to get tired and he could feel himself starting to sink slowly. His heart beat out of his chest, and he thought to himself, “Wow, this is really how I’m going to die. From tripping off a fucking pier and dying not 5 feet away from it.”

Just when he began to yell for help, his head started to go under and everything went black.

 

 

 

He woke up on the pier, his clothes clinging to him, and coughing up a storm.

There she was. Looming over him, looking worried. He hadn’t gotten the chance to look at her up close before, but he could see now that she was absolutely beautiful, with hazel eyes, and freckles smattered across her nose.

“Um…. Are you all right?”

He blinked up at her, surprised to hear an accent, and the words that came from her mouth.

“I think so.” He said hesitantly. Honestly, everything was still really fuzzy, and he wasn’t completely confident he wasn’t still drowning, and this was his subconscious making him feel better in his last moments of life.

“Are you… Are you real?”

Baffling enough, he wasn’t the one to ask that question. She looked down at him, curiosity shining in her eyes. A small hand came up to delicately stroke the hair from his forehead, and he furrowed his brow up at her.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question?”

She shook her head, giving him space to sit up and gather his wits. He put a hand to his head and massaged his temple, contemplating his entire existence at this point.

“I can’t believe this is really happening right now. Guess I didn’t eat a pot brownie that night.” He muttered to himself.

“Huh?” The girl asked, leaning forward, eyebrows creased in confusion.

“Nothing,” Ben replied coughing one last time. “I just…. Can’t believe you’re really real. That this is really happening. I thought I made you up in my head the first time I saw you.”

“So did I.” The girl whispered. She suddenly cleared her throat, eyes dancing around him awkwardly. “My name is Rey.”

“Ben,” he said. “Ben Solo,” and why the fuck did he give her his last name? Idiot.

She grinned brightly, and he could’ve sworn right then and there that it was as bright as the sun. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Ben Solo.”

 

 

 

He started visiting her every morning and every night after he got off from work, when no one was around to see her besides him.

They would talk for hours, one time during one of his nightly visits they literally talked all night, and Ben didn’t even realize it until the sun came up and he had to rush back home and get dressed for work.

She told him things she had never told anyone else before, like how she had been taking care of herself since she was 6 years old. One day, her parents had left her in their little underwater cave to go to the ocean and get some food for the winter. They never ended up coming back.

She explained that the charm around her neck was one of the few things she had left of her mother, and she never took it off.

Rey liked to collect lots of things, especially items people threw in the water so carelessly.

“You would be surprised how many people just throw their books in the ocean when they’re done with them. It’s actually how I taught myself to read.”

Ben, in turn, told her of how lonely he had been before he met her. How when he was a teenager he lashed out at his parents constantly, and how they had to send him to live with his Uncle Luke, who taught him meditation techniques and how to handle his anger better on his small farm in Iowa. He eventually chilled out, and apologized to them, but he knew after all of the shit he said and stuff that he did, that it was still a sore spot for everyone involved.

“So, am I the first human you’ve ever talked to?”

Rey blushed and looked down, “That obvious, huh?”

“No, not at all! I was just curious because of how you reacted when I first saw you.”

Rey rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, and said, “Yeah, I just wasn’t sure how you were going to react. No one I know down there has ever been caught by a human, as far as I know. I only ever really talk to other traders and merchants.”

“Well, I’m glad I met you. If it’s any consolation I’ve never been…. good with other people either.” That was true, growing up he was bullied relentlessly, and barely ever had any friends, the few that he did have eventually ditching him in favor of cooler kids to hang out with. Even now, as an adult the only real friend he had was Phasma from work, and maybe Hux, but they were really more like frenemies competing for the head position.

The next few weeks he started visiting more and more, until his weekends were only occupied with work he had to take home and Rey.

She was so beautiful and funny, and brightened up his whole day. He woke up every morning, excited to see her, and whenever they parted ways he wished she could find some way to stay.

But unfortunately, she had no legs, and he couldn’t swim. It sounded like some sort of weird version of Romeo and Juliet, almost.

He could admit to himself that he had fallen for the girl but was too afraid to make a move. She had been his first real connection… well, EVER, and he would never get over it if he messed it up.

So he tried to pay no mind to his feelings, and continued to visit the mermaid, bringing her stuff like his old phones and books he never read anymore for her to inspect.

“Hmm…. Interesting. How does this work, exactly?” She said, turning his phone over and over in her hands. He showed her how it worked, and she stared with a look of awe on her face at the technology.

“All of that power just in this little thing,” she said, poking the screen. “Amazing! You know…. If I was human like you, my dream job would be to make stuff like this. I bet it would be so much fun!”

 

 

 

One morning she asked, “So, Ben?”

He looked up from where he was picking at his nails, “Yes?”

A lovely pink blush started to spread across her face and she said, “So, I know you can’t swim. At all. But I was wondering if you would want me to teach you how? I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

Ben blinked at her in shock. He couldn’t believe she would be so kind to offer that. “I would love that! Anything just to be closer to you.”

She started stammering and it was only then when he realized how exactly that must have come off.

The next day, he brought his swimsuit with him, and headed down to the pier as usual, nervous at the prospect of swimming, or well, in his case, drowning.

He trusted Rey 100% though and knew she wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

“Hey,” she said, smiling that gorgeous smile at him, bright as ever.

“Hi,” he replied back and gestured to his swimsuit. “I’m just going to change really quick, if that’s okay?

“Oh,” she said, starting to blush profusely. “Yeah, of course. I won’t look, I promise.” She quickly turned away from him and he changed as quick as he could, hoping no one was out this early. If they did, they would end up getting quite an eyeful of him.

After changing, he turned to where he was still looking away from him. “You can look now.” He said, in an amused tone of voice.

She turned back towards him, her eyes going straight to his chest. By the look she gave him, he guessed those regular jujitsu sessions at the gym were really paying off.

“I-wow, Ben, I-,” she swallowed nervously. “Can I?” She gestured, her fingers splayed out and reaching towards him.

He nodded, holding his breath and wondering how she made him feel as though he was a teenager again.

It felt like decades had passed before her trembling fingers gently traced the contour of his abs. The only word he could use to describe the look in her eyes was hungry, and her mouth was slightly parted, her lips red and wet from biting at them. Ben wanted to suck and lick at those lips.

She suddenly and abruptly took her hand away and all but shouted, “Right! Well, we should get started!”

He begrudgingly got into the water and resisted the urge to start flailing, following her lead. It took them almost an hour, but he eventually began to get the hang of treading water, her gentle but firm hands holding him upright whenever he started to panic.

“See? I told you that you could do it!”

Ben smiled and replied, “Well, I had an excellent teacher.”

She smiled modestly and swam closer to him. A sudden noise of a car door opening nearby caused them both to look at each other anxiously, and they quickly swam under the pier so they couldn’t be seen.

“Crap! I guess I lost track of time. Guess we’ll have to wait until whoever it is out there leaves.”

“Yeah,” Rey agreed, using a hand to pat him on the shoulder affectionately. “I’m really proud of you. I can only imagine how scary that must’ve been, having to put your trust completely in me.”

Ben shrugged as best he could while treading water and said, “Well, that part wasn’t so hard. I only trust one other person than you, and that’s my mother. Getting to know you over these past couple of months has been one of the best things that has happened to me…. Ever.”

Rey smiled softly at him, the look in her eyes so tender and sweet he couldn’t help himself anymore, and he leaned in to kiss her gently on those lips he had been dreaming about for what seemed like forever.

She made a soft noise of surprise, and kissed back, to his utmost relief.

Their kiss deepened, and Rey’s hand came up to tangle in his dark hair. She smelled like saltwater and something earthy he couldn’t quite put his finger on. As he explored the cavern of her mouth carefully and slowly, he found that she still tasted like the candies he had brought her as a gift only a few days prior.

They eventually broke away, both flushed and grinning hard, out of breath.

“That was amazing,” he breathed, stroking her face. “This is going to sound really cheesy, so I’m sorry, but I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you.”

Rey nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, me too. I’ve, um, never kissed anyone before. I’m glad you were my first. I’ve been so afraid these past few weeks because I realized I was falling for you and didn’t know if you felt the same.”

Ben breathed a heavy sigh of relief and said, “Don’t be afraid. I feel it too. I wondered the exact same thing about you.”

They started to kiss passionately again and didn’t even notice when the person in the car finally left.

He didn’t quite know how exactly this was going to work out. She was a mermaid, and he was a human, after all.

But those thoughts just passed by like clouds in his mind as he kept kissing Rey. No matter what happened in the future, they would always have right now.


End file.
